Sandpoint planners review rules for housing downtown, raise questions on height, trees and parking

City Planner Bill Dean told the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission on June 3 that the city's Commercial A zoning is explicitly intended to preserve a downtown storefront character and that the code currently limits most new housing to upper stories or behind street-front storefronts.

"Just to be clear, tonight, we're not talking about any particular proposed code change," Dean said at the start of the discussion, framing the session as an informal workshop to explain how the ordinance reads and what could be considered for future amendments.

The discussion centered on a short table of allowed uses in Commercial A and several specific development controls that, together, determine how much housing can be built and what it looks like. Dean pointed to several rules that shape downtown form: a 0-foot maximum front setback (build-to the sidewalk except for defined civic spaces), a rule allowing residential only on upper stories or behind ground-floor storefronts, and a set of height provisions that currently allow up to 65 feet under some conditions but set a 35-foot maximum within 50 feet of residential zones.

Why it matters: Commissioners, staff and residents said the existing wording can yield very different outcomes depending on interpretation. The code's mix of broad design language and discrete numeric limits has led residents and architects to ask whether the rules need more detail to protect the downtown character, while keeping redevelopment economically viable.

Key code points and questions raised

- Allowable residential forms: The zoning table lists dwellings…